1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to binocular glasses, and particularly sports theme hands-free binocular glasses or hands-free binocular glasses with decorative and design elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Observers of an event, in particular sports fans, concert-goers and opera-goers, often use binoculars to observe the event from a distance. Binoculars are typically operated with one or both hands. This is problematic, for example, during a sporting event, since a sports fan cannot simultaneously watch the game through binoculars and perform some other activity that requires the use of hands, such as drinking a beer, eating a hot dog, or using a cellular telephone.
While various hands-free binoculars have been proposed, they are often expensive and not specifically designed with the sports fan, concert-goer or opera-goer in mind. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,422,661, issued Jun. 24, 1947 to C. A. Ellis, describes a binocular magnifying lens holder. U.S. Pat. No. 2,437,642, issued Mar. 9, 1948 to F. C. P. Henroteau, describes spectacles for vision correction. U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,634, issued Jun. 26, 1973 to Stoltze, describes binocular spectacles.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,959, issued Feb. 7, 1984 to Walters, describes a spectacle mounted hinged monocular or binocular vision aid. U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,305, issued Jan. 16, 1996 to Johnson, describes a lightweight binocular telescope. U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,517, issued Dec. 14, 1999 to Elkind, describes flat, hands-free, convertible Keplerian binoculars.
Also, while some sports theme binoculars have been proposed, they do not solve the above-described problem of requiring the use of hands. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,879, issued Jan. 15, 1991 to Plunkett, describes a comfortable binocular. U.S. Design Pat. No. 375,968, issued Nov. 26, 1996 to Ushiyama, describes baseball-type binoculars. U.S. Design Pat. No. 379,188, issued May 13, 1997 to Ushiyama, describes soccerball-type binoculars. U.S. Design Pat. No. 394,442, issued May 19, 1998 to Ushiyama, describes basketball-type binoculars.
Finally, while sports theme eyeglasses have been proposed, it does not include a binocular function. U.S. Design Pat. No. 321,700, issued Nov. 19, 1991 to Smith, describes novelty sunglasses with a golf ball-like feature.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus binocular glasses solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The sports theme hands-free binocular glasses of the present invention comprise an eyeglass frame, a binocular device, and an ornamental device. The ornamental device has an overall shape which is substantially the shape of a sports-related device. The ornamental device has an opening which allows light to pass through the opening and into the binocular device. The ornamental device may be hollow and adapted to enclose the binocular device. The ornamental device may comprise a first design element, where the first design element has a first design element shape which is substantially the shape of an attribute of the sports-related device. The sports theme hands-free binocular glasses may be adapted for use as a hands-free device. Also, the present invention is directed to hands-free binocular glasses having an eyeglass frame, a binocular device, a decorative element and a design element.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide sports theme hands-free binocular glasses comprising an eyeglass frame, a binocular device, an ornamental device, and a sports-related design.
It is another object of the invention to provide hands-free sports theme hands-free binocular glasses comprising an eyeglass frame, a binocular device, an ornamental device, and a sports-related design.
It is a further object of the invention to provide hands-free binocular glasses having an eyeglass frame, a binocular device, a decorative element and a design element.
Still another object of the invention is to provide hands-free sports theme hands-free binocular glasses comprising an eyeglass frame, a binocular device, an ornamental device, and a sports-related design element, where the overall shape of the ornamental device is substantially the shape of a sports-related device, where the ornamental device comprises a first design element, and where the first design element has a first design element shape which is substantially the shape of an attribute of the sports-related device.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.